NewsWrap
for the week ending April 10, 2004
(As broadcast on This Way Out program #837, distributed 4-12-04)
[Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill,
Fenceberry, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon]
Anchored this week by Cindy Friedman and Rick Watts
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's extension of spousal benefits
to the legally recognized partners of some gay and lesbian UN employees came
under fire from the UN General Assembly this week. The Secretary-General has
the authority to determine personnel practices, but opponents of the move
claim that defining "family" should be left to the General Assembly. The benefits
were protested by dozens of delegations, including the Vatican, and Islamic
and African nations, on the grounds that they offended religious beliefs and
threatened families.
Ironically, among those complaining that recognizing same-gender couples as
families is unacceptable to most nations, were many of the countries which
recognize polygamy. Their male citizens who work for the UN can split spousal
benefits among up to 4 wives. That recognition of diversity was part of the
basis for Annan's extension of benefits, which applies only to employees whose
home countries recognize same-gender relationships and even then only if the
national delegation to the UN specifically agrees to it.
The General Assembly called on Annan to review the policy, which his office
had already agreed to do following a similar resolution by a budget committee
last week. But it's been suggested that the challenge to the
Secretary-General's authority will tend to harden his support of it.
In Italy, the status of same-gender couples has advanced in Tuscany. The
Regional Council's Statute Commission this week completed two articles of a
statute developed in conjunction with gay and lesbian advocacy groups. While
honoring marriage, the measure extends recognition to other kinds of domestic
partnerships and families. It also makes what it calls "sexual tendencies" a
category protected from discrimination, bringing the region into line with
European Union standards.
The first test is underway for Britain's new laws against employment
discrimination based on sexual orientation. Those protections came into force last
year as part of a move to incorporate European civil rights laws into
Britain's national statutes. What's believed to be the first employment complaint
brought under the new protections will also be challenging their exemption for
church-related institutions -- an exemption that's already under review by a
British court in a lawsuit brought by trade unions. The discrimination complaint
comes from an unnamed social worker who says a Catholic charity withdrew a
job offer after he disclosed his long-term committed relationship with another
man.
Gay and lesbian U.S. federal civil servants are protected from employment
discrimination, the Office of Special Counsel affirmed in a statement this
week. OSC's new head Scott Bloch, reportedly responding to pressure from the Bush
administration, said, "It is the policy of this administration that
discrimination in the federal workforce on the basis of sexual orientation is
prohibited."
OSC is a semi-autonomous agency which responds to claims of discrimination in
civilian federal employment, and it acted against anti-gay bias for more than
20 years. But Bush appointee Bloch had recently deleted all references to
sexual orientation protections from the agency's Web site and other materials.
He had claimed that his reading of relevant regulations found those employees'
off-the-job "conduct" but not their "status" -- as he referred to sexual
orientation -- to be protected.
But this week Bloch declared that, "OSC has always enforced claims of sexual
orientation discrimination based on actual conduct. Based on its review, OSC
has concluded that such authority exists in cases other than actual conduct
when reasonable grounds exist to infer that those engaging in discriminatory
acts on the basis of sexual orientation have discriminated on the basis of
imputed private conduct. Such inferences apply to all claims, including but not
limited to, sexual orientation discrimination claims."
Last week Democratic Congressmembers demanded action to restore government
job rights, and the White House issued a statement that seemed to support
them. Some of those Democrats, including open gay Barney Frank of Massachusetts
and open lesbian Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, responded to this week's OSC
turnaround. Their joint statement expressed pleasure at the reaffirmation of
discrimination protections and emphasized the importance of judging government
workers solely on their job performance. It went on to urge Bloch to repair the
uncertainty he'd created by restoring the references to sexual orientation to
the OSC Web site and ensuring that the reaffirmed policy is stated in all
appropriate documents.
Bloch's own statement indicated that the Web site currently is "consistent
with" sexual orientation protections, but he added that OSC "intends to review
and revise those materials as necessary to ensure that employees are fully
aware of the protections provided."
Gay and lesbian organizations which had drawn attention to Bloch's earlier
moves and lobbied against them welcomed his reversal. Log Cabin Republicans
political director Chris Barron told the "Washington Post" that, "It's
unfortunate that in the year 2004 we actually had to spend time debating something that
has been clear for 30 years."
National Treasury Employees Union president Colleen Kelley said Bloch had
"generated confusion and anxiety in the federal workplace for no good reason."
In other Internet-related news, Saudi Arabia agreed to unblock two gay Web
sites last week. In response to protest by the group Reporters Without
Borders, the Saudi government's Internet Services Unit re-examined GayMiddleEast.com
and 365Gay.com and wrote that, "Since no pornographic content was found, the
ban has been lifted." Other sites which may include nudity, such as Gay.com,
remain banned.
And the Internet is now the only way left for the more than one thousand
members of Singapore's gay and lesbian civil rights advocacy group to meet.
Singapore this week denied official registration to the group called People Like
Us, and warned of harsh punishment should its activities continue.
Spokesperson Alex Au said the group would comply by not holding further meetings.
People Like Us -- which had an earlier application rejected in 1997 -- will appeal
the latest dismissal to the Home Affairs Ministry. The group is also asking
the Registrar of Societies to explain the refusal, whose basis in law is
reserved for organizations with purposes that are either unlawful; prejudicial to
the public peace, welfare and good order; or contrary to the national interest.
Singapore's "gross indecency" law provides for up to 2 years imprisonment for
homosexual acts, but is reportedly rarely enforced.
Zanzibar's Parliament this week enacted a Government bill to increase
sentencing for homosexual acts and to criminalize same-gender marriages. The
island in the Indian Ocean has considerable autonomy and independent government
despite its status as part of Tanzania, and nearly all of its residents are
Muslims. But it's also a tourist destination, and its politicians expressed
concern that gay and lesbian marriages were being celebrated in its hotels. Now men
who marry there can be imprisoned for up to 25 years, while women who marry
there can be imprisoned for up to 7 years. Anyone presiding at those marriages
can also be prosecuted and imprisoned.
Zanzibar could be kissing some big bucks goodbye as it drops off the list
of honeymoon destinations for gays and lesbians. This week "Forbes" magazine
estimated that legalizing marriage for same-gender couples now living together
in the U.S. would mean another 16.8-billion-dollars for that nation's wedding
industry. "Forbes" admits it might take a few years for all of that windfall
to be realized, but the industry's already pulling in $70-billion per year.
"Forbes" estimate may even be conservative, since it's based on couples counted
in the 2000 census.
And finally... the prestigious Pulitzer Prize was awarded this week to
openly gay U.S. author Doug Wright for his one-man play "I Am My Own Wife," which
chronicles the life of the late famed German cross-dresser Charlotte von
Mahlsdorf. Born Lothar Berfelde, von Mahlsdorf survived the Nazis and the Soviet
occupation of East Germany as a self-identified "transvestite". After
reunification, she became a media celebrity until her death 2 years ago at the age of
74. It took a decade for Wright to develop the play from more than 500 pages
of transcripts of his interviews with von Mahlsdorf. Previously best-known
for the Marquis de Sade tale "Quills", Wright shares credit for the evolution of
his prize-winning play with 2 people: its director Moises Kaufman -- who
coordinated "The Laramie Project" about Matthew Shepard -- and Jeffrey Mays, the
lone actor who portrays all of its 40 characters.